Saturday, July 21, 2007

Music Therapy







Tonight I went to see Kalle play again...
When I got to the venue where Kalle was playing (The Glenn Miller Club) it was so so small – I stood in the stairwell for the first set, and I was directly behind the drummer and saxophone player. It was absolutely phenomenal – I recorded some of it with my camera. After the first set, Kalle and I came outside to talk with the rest of his band. The people he plays with are such lovely people, I loved talking with them all very much - They have such a different lifestyle than I do and are so good at what they do. I found a seat in the crowded restaurant for the second set and the music was literally caressing all the people in the restaurant. We were all either closing our eyes or gazing hazily towards the singer Elizabeth Kontomanou who is North African and Greek. She brought her two protégé sons with her who sang and played the blues guitar like masters. The singer was such a powerful woman that she was controlling the band and telling them which songs to play (and some of the songs had not been practiced before the performance, so much of their playing was off the cuff) and sometimes she gave the band cues as to which key to be in or how to use their instruments to accompany her voice. She commanded such attention in this little restaurant, and she was pleasing us all.
After the performance I had the chance to speak with her and her sons outside and they were all such loving, friendly people. We talked about my travels and her life – I was admiring how she had raised such strong, beautiful and talented boys. They really had a special bond about them, and loved to perform with each other. I was enchanted by her free will and huge soul that she had shared with us all – I will try to buy her music when I go to a country where it is distributed. As I have been traveling, things have become so beautiful. I don’t know if they have become so beautiful because of my perspective, or because I have opened myself up to receive beautiful things. I felt so lucky to have shared that moment with all the people in the restaurant, and feel love for each one of them for simply being there.

I’m glad I could spend time with people in my generation, and am very much enjoying how people from different parts of the world can just open up and have a special connection with each other.





1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How fun is this! I love how they all enjoy each other so much. Its like everyone is a big family.